Wishes
are born from sorrows, blessings are sometimes curses, and even fairy
godmothers cannot always get what they want. In this original
collection, Cindy Lynn Speer, the author of the Chocolatier’s Wife,
brings to life creatures of myths and tales, mixing them into a vibrant
tapestry of stories, happy and sad, magical and real, each lovingly
crafted and sure to touch the reader’s soul. Step into the world where
magic is real, and every mundane bit of reality is as magical as a true
fairy tale.

Review

Note: This review is copied from my Goodreads review
with some editing. If you find any mistake in grammar and structure, please kindly email me at : sawamura_foxman AT yahoo DOT com , so I can correct it. Thanks! :) .

I
never think at the first place that Wishes and Sorrows is an anthology,
because when I request this one, I strucked by the haunting, eerie yet
beautiful cover. When I read the first page, there are some introduction
from Ms Speer about her short stories in this anthology. I read some,
then decide to pass it because I don't want to be spoiled. Wishes
and Sorrows have 14 fantasy, urban fantasy and fairy tale re-telling
short stories (with 1 is not story, more like research). All have
"wishes" and "sorrows" themes that tied all the short stories. Some told
from 3rd POV and some were from 1st POV. All the story focused on the
women as the main characters with some have "Happy Ever After", some
"Happily for Now", some have frustating cliffhanger and some end in the
tragedy. Wow, such a rich collection, rite? Of course not all short stories I love. My favorite are The Bell Witch and Queen of Vines, Every Word I Speak, A Necklace of Rubies and But Can You Let Him Go.

The Bell Witch and Queen of Vines
is more like simple fantasy with Fae, shifter, and witch. I like how the heroine, Aziza choose her own
HEA and not damsel in distress that waiting for a knight in shining
armor to save her. Quite opposite actualy.

Every Word I Speak
is when a gift going awry. We often read a fairy tale when the poor
main character gifted by some fairy and then live happily ever after.
This is one of the "what if" scenario, what if the gift more like a
curse? The ending is bittersweet and I wish that the heroine will get her happiness despite her cruel fate.

A Necklace of Rubies is a horror story with historical setting, full of
mystery and also have a gothic vibe. I almost afraid this story will end in
tragedy, but the ending is superb! I would love to read A Necklace of Rubies in full
length novel because the premise is unique. This one is a retold of Mr
Fox and Bluebeard fairy tale.

But Can You Let Him Go?
make me confused at first. Then with each story told by some
unnamed fairy, I realise that this is a retold of Cinderella fairy tale.
What make this story unique is how we will get the root of the
tales, from an ancient civilization then to Egypt, Chinese, Ireland and
then to our poor maiden Cinderella that go with the name Eleanor. All told from the "fairy godmother"
view who in a quest to redeem herself for fallin' to the "prince" that
supposed to marry "Cinderella". In the end, this godmother also got her HEA as well. Afterall she had tortured for eons, have unrequited love and also regrets

Short stories like One Hundred Eight Degrees, The Fortunate Ones, The Jester Heart, The Tower in the Desert, the Train and I am The Grey Lady are just okay for me, not memorable. Like The Train is told from a woman that is a result of experiment, make her some kind of Frankenstein. The Fortunate Ones have a sorrow tone, much alike Every Word I Speak.The Jester Heart have underlying message, a regret of a woman that couldn't save her crazy sister. The Tower in the Desert is silly and maybe is the "brightest" story from this collection. While I am The Grey Lady is a mix of Sixth Sense and The Others with a twist.

The rest of the shorts, like Remember, What Will I Do When the Dream is Over and The Taste of Cherries
don't make sense at all. Remember is..what, I don't know what the story
about, more like a rambling of mad woman who deep into her madness. While Will I Do more like mediocre urban fantasy stories. The
Taste of Cherries is more like a closing for a collection, an absurd
short about longing.

I really like what Ms Speer deliver in this
collection. Not all good, but I love her voice, especially when she
write in 1st POV. Her take to the fairy tale is unique and even some
don't end in HEA, still remarkable. This collection show her progress, from circa 90-ish until recently, and I find that I prefer her old writing. I would love to read more of her
work other than from this collection offered. If you like unusual
fantasy and fairy tale retelling, also Neil Gaiman fans (whom Ms Speer got her inspiration from) Wishes and Sorrows is a must read for you

Just Curious Where U From ;)

About Me

Ren, meaning "forbearance" in Chinese. But, I have no patience when it comes to books I want to read. A thirty-something girl from Indonesia who love reading almost everything and eat noodles in her spare time. Plan to conquer the world, one book at a time....